Remember when Oakland picked Rolando McClain and people acted like Al Davis finally made a good pick even though it made just as little sense as any of the other picks he'd made over the past decade? And that, in hindsight, the dHb pick was significantly better? AND that, the rumored Mike Iupati pick that people were rolling their eyes about would have been significantly better than both of those picks?

I still hold that Rolando McClain is a damn good MLB 75-80% of the time. He plays REALLY well coming downhill. He cleans up at the line very well--when he gets the right gap.

The other 20-25% of the time, he is failing to get deep on his drops when in zone coverage or he is getting washed out of a running play because he picked the wrong gap.

He is exactly what has been wrong with the Raiders' defense in that they will get stuffs on 2 plays in a row then give up a 70 run to a guy who has never had a run over 25 yards.

Put him on a more disciplined defensive team and he will be a stud. If he goes somewhere like Baltimore--watch out. I really frustrated to see the Raiders giving up on him, but it's equally frustrating watching a defense give up huge plays constantly.

Just an update on the McClain situation--nothing is official yet. No move can be made officially until Thursday.

Apparently this was spurred by a very heated exchange between McClain and Coach Dennis Allen early in the morning practice--an argument which resulted in McClain being kicked off the field.

Based off everything I'm hearing right now, it seems likely the "release" will become official tomorrow, but there is a possibility something could be worked out and the Raiders hand out a suspension or some other punishment.

I'd be willing to give him a look in Baltimore. We could use the ILB depth if Ellerbe misses significant time. Not sure if we could do it with his contract though.

It's nice to have a strong locker room with a Ray Lewis because if a guy is slipping he will get on them and set them back in line. Some players are too much of a hassle but we can take on a Jimmy Smith with out too much worry.